Killer of eagles: ‘It is time for me to grow up’

Marysville man hoped to sell two bald eagles he bludgeoned

Published 7:38 pm, Thursday, September 10, 2015

Photo: JORDAN STEAD, SEATTLEPI.COM

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A bald eagle is pictured near Everett in a 2014 file photo. Shane Moses, 45, of Marysville, killed two bald eagles he found floating in Puget Sound nearby in December 2013. Moses has since pleaded guilty to related federal offenses. less

A bald eagle is pictured near Everett in a 2014 file photo. Shane Moses, 45, of Marysville, killed two bald eagles he found floating in Puget Sound nearby in December 2013. Moses has since pleaded guilty to ... more

Photo: JORDAN STEAD, SEATTLEPI.COM

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Tulalip Fish and Wildlife officer Bruce Williams patrols aboard a tribal boat at Tulalip Bay. In December 2013, Shane Moses, 45, of Marysville, killed two bald eagles he found floating in the bay. Moses has since pleaded guilty to related federal offenses. less

Tulalip Fish and Wildlife officer Bruce Williams patrols aboard a tribal boat at Tulalip Bay. In December 2013, Shane Moses, 45, of Marysville, killed two bald eagles he found floating in the bay. Moses has ... more

Photo: Joshua Trujillo/Seattle Post-Intelligencer

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Shane Moses, 45, of Marysville, killed two bald eagles he found floating in Puget Sound off the Tulalip Tribes reservation. Moses has since pleaded guilty to related federal offenses. Graphic photos of the eagles appear in this gallery. less

Shane Moses, 45, of Marysville, killed two bald eagles he found floating in Puget Sound off the Tulalip Tribes reservation. Moses has since pleaded guilty to related federal offenses. Graphic photos of the ... more

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One of two bald eagles killed by Shane Moses is pictured above in a U.S. Justice Department photo. Moses, 45, of Marysville, killed the bald eagles he found floating in Puget Sound off the Tulalip Tribes reservation. Moses has since pleaded guilty to related federal offenses. less

One of two bald eagles killed by Shane Moses is pictured above in a U.S. Justice Department photo. Moses, 45, of Marysville, killed the bald eagles he found floating in Puget Sound off the Tulalip Tribes ... more

Photo: U.S. Justice Department

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One of two bald eagles killed by Shane Moses is pictured above in a U.S. Justice Department photo. Moses, 45, of Marysville, killed the bald eagles he found floating in Puget Sound off the Tulalip Tribes reservation. Moses has since pleaded guilty to related federal offenses. less

One of two bald eagles killed by Shane Moses is pictured above in a U.S. Justice Department photo. Moses, 45, of Marysville, killed the bald eagles he found floating in Puget Sound off the Tulalip Tribes ... more

Photo: U.S. Justice Department Photo

Killer of eagles: ‘It is time for me to grow up’

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A Marysville man who broke the skulls of two injured bald eagles before trying to sell their carcasses says it's time for him to "grow up."

Shane Moses was crabbing on Puget Sound when he came upon the injured female eagles. Hoping to make some money selling the birds to a taxidermist, Moses beat them both with a gaff. One died immediately while the other was later euthanized.

Turned in to police after landing his boat, Moses, 45, was prosecuted federally in the Dec. 27, 2013, incident. He initially denied clubbing the birds but has since pleaded guilty.

Prosecutors and Moses are prepared to ask for a 60-day jail term for the killings when he is sentenced Friday morning at U.S. District Court in Seattle. Writing the court, Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth Wilkinson asserted Moses destroyed two animals treasured by many.

“Bald eagles are sacred to tribal members, to the broader community of the Northwest, and to the United States,” Wilkinson said in court papers.

Shane Moses, 45, of Marysville, killed two bald eagles he found floating in Puget Sound nearby in December 2013. Moses has since pleaded guilty to related federal offenses. File video from KOMO News.

Moses, the prosecutor continued, “not only killed two magnificent birds – he disrespected all of the communities that hold them sacred.”

According to court papers, Moses was crabbing in Tulalip Bay when he found the female eagles floating. He clubbed both birds, breaking their skulls and dumping them in a bucket.

Moses then asked a friend to drive him to a taxidermist in the hope that the taxidermist would buy the eagles. Tulalip Tribal Police were tipped off and seized the eagles.

Tribal authorities referred the matter to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Moses was indicted in April and pleaded guilty the following month to violating a federal anti-poaching law.

In Moses’ case, the standard sentence for his crimes extended to nearly 2½ years. But prosecutors and the defense agreed Moses’ current and past crimes stem from addiction. It’s hoped that court supervision will encourage Moses to clean up.

Writing the court on his client’s behalf, defense attorney Gabriel Banfi described Moses as remorseful and ready to change.

“He now clearly understands that his life abusing alcohol and drugs must end,” Banfi said in court papers.

“In his own words,” Banfi continued, “he understands that ‘it is time for me to grow up.’”

Moses has lived his entire life on the Tulalip Tribes reservation. His life has been marked by extreme poverty – the trailer where he and his wife live didn’t have running water. He has made several attempts at drug and alcohol treatment in the past 14 years, without success.

Wilkinson described Moses’ crime as one driven in part by “economic desperation” as well as drug and alcohol abuse.

“This was not a calculated crime but appears instead to be an impulsive one that was the product of a confluence of factors,” the prosecutor told the court.

Moses is scheduled to be sentenced Friday morning by U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman. He’s been jailed since May and will likely be released immediately if Pechman imposes the requested 60-day sentence. Prosecutors and the defense have asked that he spend two years under court supervision.